The Bank of Communications (BoCom), the mainland's fifth-largest lender, has applied to regulators for approval to invest in offshore securities and the bonds market under the qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) scheme.

 

Once approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), BoCom will be "qualified" to invest in the foreign securities market via certain fund management institutions, insurance companies, securities companies and other assets management institutions.

 

"We have applied for the QDII and are waiting for approval from the CSRC hopefully we will get it soon. BoCom is a well-prepared applicant," said Dicky Yip, BoCom's executive vice-president.

 

"We will continuously cooperate with HSBC in fund market investment and launching new products for both mainland and Hong Kong customers," Yip told reporters at the Bank of Communications' Pacific Credit Card issuing ceremony in Hong Kong yesterday.

 

BoCom, the first overseas-listed mainland bank, said the strengthening of the renminbi (RMB) will not have too great an impact on its business.

 

"The value of the RMB is growing at a relatively small volume and slow pace, and given BoCom's capacity, it is quite capable to cope with the contingency," said Yip.

 

Aiming to extend its Hong Kong presence, BoCom is working jointly with Visa International and announced yesterday the launch of its Pacific Credit Card for Hong Kong residents.

 

"The Bank of Communications Hong Kong Branch strives to continuously provide a comprehensive array of professional banking services to customers. After its highly successful uptake on the mainland, we are proud to market the debut of the Pacific Credit Card in Hong Kong," said Yip.

 

BoCom and its 19.9 percent shareholder HSBC, which underwrote its IPO in Hong Kong last May, jointly issued credit cards exclusively for mainland residents when it floated, targeting up to 1 million card users for the first year.

 

By the end of 2005, BoCom had already issued 650,000 credit cards co-branded with HSBC, and will release the card circulation result next month.

 

Based in Shanghai, BoCom had the best financial performance in 2005 among 13 domestic nationwide commercial banks, according to a professional financial magazine affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 

BoCom topped ranking for financial performance in The Banker magazine's 2005-2006 ratings for domestic commercial banks, published in March. The ratings related to the banks' financial results and overall competitiveness.

 

(China Daily May 17, 2006)